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“Many thanks to Bonnie for sending this my way forever ago!
I left the leaves in for a little too long because (like always) I got sidetracked, only this time I didn’t hear the buzzer go off. It...”
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“Nicole, thanks again for these samples! There was quite a bit of this one, so I’m glad I like it. The flowers make the leaves interesting too. To me, the flavor is peach. Not the most authentic...”
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“Picked this up with the Princess Noori at the Russian market today. Smells very strongly of fruit. Not sure what fruit, but definitely fruit.
Tasting it, I get berry. Reminds me of Lady Londonderry...”
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“Another sample to thank Nicole for! This one is wonderful! The dry leaves smelled really tart, and the tea itself had a fresh berry aroma. The flavor is initially very tart with a lemony finish....”
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12 Tasting Notes

I left the leaves in for a little too long because (like always) I got sidetracked, only this time I didn’t hear the buzzer go off. It didn’t really do this tea justice. As a result, it got kind of soapy and there’ s a lot of uncomfortable astringency. I’m not going to put a number rating on this one because I don’t want it to be judged on my bad habits. However, I am going to try again because this tea sounds like it could be pretty tasty! Thank you Bonnie for the sample!

Nicole, thanks again for these samples! There was quite a bit of this one, so I’m glad I like it. The flowers make the leaves interesting too. To me, the flavor is peach. Not the most authentic peach, but I know I’ve mentioned before that I had this really terrible peach tea once and since I like seeing the good in everything, that one terrible peach tea will now make all the others taste better! But the flavor blends really well with the black tea base — they really compliment each other!

Picked this up with the Princess Noori at the Russian market today. Smells very strongly of fruit. Not sure what fruit, but definitely fruit.

Tasting it, I get berry. Reminds me of Lady Londonderry so maybe strawberry. It’s a good tea. Light and fruity. As it cools, it becomes more tart. I think I do want to try it like Bonnie did, with a spoon of cherry jam. I sure have enough to share if anyone wants any.

Preparation

Another sample to thank Nicole for! This one is wonderful! The dry leaves smelled really tart, and the tea itself had a fresh berry aroma. The flavor is initially very tart with a lemony finish. The aftertaste is of ripe berries with just a wispy hint of cream. With milk and sweetener, it becomes all strawberries and cream with just a little bit of lemon. This tea reminds me of a summer day with fresh strawberries and raspberries and a big dollop of fresh whipped cream. I would definitely order more of this one!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves with small orange safflower petals, large yellow sunflower petals and large blue mallow blossoms.
-Dry leaves smell tart and fruity. Tea liquor aroma is of fresh berries.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium reddish brown color.
-Tart berry flavor with a lemony finish. Ripe berry aftertaste with a hint of cream.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Fresh berry flavor with a hint of lemon. Reminiscent of strawberries and cream.

Preparation

Another one from Bonnie. I was a little perplexed when I smelled the dry leaf, as it smelled strongly of what I perceived to be strawberry. It reminded me of the strawberry zabaglione I had earlier today. The taste was also similar, just without the creamy aspect and with a slight floral flavor. I would say this one is similar, but a little more refined and less dessert-like.

If you read my review…this is often served as dessert with chocolate or jam…yes …jam in the cup with the tea and a spoon and you slurp it up. I mean a big tablespoon or so of sour cherry jam. This is the Russian way! It should be sweet…but I understand 2 sweet tea’s in one day…like too much candy!

This just arrived! Joy! Wanted to try this after reading about how it was served in the Russian tea room in San Francisco in the old days just the way I was served by Fr. John at St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Saratoga,CA. Instead of Russian Caravan smokey tea he used a more floral Russian Tea and put in a huge glob of sour cherry Jam and a spoon. You sip, get some jam from the spoon and sip some more. So good. I made me the same cuppa tea, sour cherry jam and all. AHHHHH!
Now the tea:
I did pour a sample first. My Steep time was 5 minutes and the liquor was med dark gold. The scent from first opening the huge bag of tea (8.8 oz for $8.99 a bargain!) was so different and floral but not something that I could say I knew what it was. Big scent though! Marigold…blue mallow…safflower…a bit buttery on the end. I let it cool but it does not taste good cold. Maybe sweet would be ok. This is fine without any sweetening hot and I’ll try without jam and with milk later. Love it this time.

Thanks to Bonnie for a sample of this. The dry leaf has a very very pungent smell. Smelled like a strawberry perfume. I am usually not a fan of flavored black teas, but this was a little different. The taste to me has a berry like flavor. It surprised me.:)

I think that the context of how this has been used is part of what makes it different. The Russian Tea Room and other places where you would add other things to the tea…like the sour cherry jam. It becomes dessert. Did some reading on this after it was prepared for me this way a few years ago.

Preparation

I got this and another Czar Nikolas II tea in my swap with Sara. They sounded interesting and unusual, so I had to give them a try. This tea is a mix of very curly jet black leaves and various flower petals. It’s interesting that this tea says it’s only scented with flowers, because it has a tart, fruity smells like apricot or peach.

Mm, the steeped tea smells very fruity as well. I would describe the aroma as strawberry rhubarb – there’s a strong tart element. Wow, this is an interesting one! There’s definitely an element here that’s very tart, in fact it reminds me of a cross between lemon juice and hibiscus. The base tea is super mellow and somewhat malty. I can taste a hint of peach at the end of the sip. Something about this tea is chalky, and I’m not sure what it is. Overall, a strange and unusual tea.

Flavors: Lemon, Malt, Peach, Tart

Preparation

I like this tea. It reminds me of Mariage Frères’ Montagne d’Or, but it’s not quite the same. I feel like there’s a little bit of rose and then a sharper element so that it’s not completely mild. Overbrewing doesn’t make it super bitter. I think I might get tired of it after a while if I drank it too often, though.